PROFESSIONAL LEARNING VISION and MISSION
BALDWIN COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
Vision for Professional Learning
The Baldwin County school system has a vision for everyone in the school system becoming an active learner focused on student achievement. The vision is for optimal, “high quality” professional learning occurring in all schools where faculty and staff function as learning communities.
Mission for Professional Learning
To transform the professional learning program of the Baldwin County School System into a comprehensive professional learning process that is school-based, results focused and driven by action research conducted by teachers and administrators. Every decision concerning professional learning in this process will be made with STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT as the goal.
Strategies or Approaches for Professional Learning
Decisions about professional learning should be influenced by these critical questions:
- What is the improvement goal of the school?
- What do teachers need to learn to achieve the goal?
- How will the learning be supported?
- How will the implementation of the learning be monitored?
Menu of Approaches
Whole Faculty Study Groups
Professional Inquiry
Curriculum Development
Action Research
Analysis of student data
Examination of student work
Development of scoring assessments
Coaching and mentoring
Definition of Study Group
A study group is a professional development context for developing expertise in improving student learning. Methods and processes implemented in a well-designed and properly coordinated effort provide a vehicle for school change. The process itself is a management system for bringing about major change and improvement of student learning. For a study group to be successful, it has to have boundaries. Those include
Specific investigation or topic
Purposeful way to investigate the topic
Specific expectations for group members
Specific facilitator
Specific time to meet
Why “Whole Faculty” Study Groups?
Whole Faculty Study Groups means ALL: all administrators, all classroom teachers, all resource teachers, all special area teachers, librarian, counselor, and anyone else holding professional certification is included in study groups. In forming WFSGs the faculty goes through a process of analyzing student and school data to identify student needs that study groups will address. When the needs are determined, groups form based on these needs. Each study group then determines what its members will do when their group meets to address a specific student need. Most often, this means examining what will enable teachers to effectively use new and refined instructional practices and materials in the classroom to impact student learning.
Guiding Principles
Functions of Whole Faculty Study Group
Most often, these functions occur simultaneously:
Targeting a school wide instructional need
Studying the research on teaching and learning
Giving coherence to existing instructional programs and practices
Developing deeper understanding of academic content
Supporting implementation of curricular and instructional initiatives
Monitoring the impact of instructional initiatives on students
Examining student work together
Major Strengths
The most obvious strength of whole faculty study groups is the professional support and encouragement teachers give each other routinely. With strong leadership from the principal and strong school wide sponsorship, study groups take on an additional sense of importance. Student achievement is very positively impacted through this vehicle for change. The principal’s support and pressure are positive forces for action and success. Change will most often happen because some pressure has built up to the point that it leads to action.
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